Have you ever found yourself wondering if an SDI course is equal (or equivalent) to courses offered by other dive training organizations?

Maybe you were asked to show verification of an “advanced diver” rating but you are unsure if your certification matches what the dive center is looking for.

If these situations sound familiar, this blog post is for you!

While each dive training organization strives to produce great divers, sometimes we use different terminology to say the same thing. Understanding equivalent ratings will allow you to see where your certification lines up with other organizations. In addition, it will allow you to know if you meet the prerequisites for a course if you hold a certification with one dive training organization then take a subsequent course with another.

Recently, we have received an influx of calls and e-mails requesting confirmation on equivalent ratings offered by multiple organizations. As a result, we put together an equivalency table of ratings offered by three agencies listed within the WRSTC: SDI (Scuba Diving International), SSI(Scuba Schools International), and PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors).

At the top of the chart you will find each dive training organization, and the certifications for that organization below it. You can quickly cross-reference a rating between dive training organizations; in the event a certification listed is not equivalent to the other organizations, the field will simply list “not applicable.”

Compare Diver Courses with this Equivalency Chart (PADI, SDI, SSI)

Skin Diver

Snorkeler

Snorkel Diver

Discover Scuba Diver

Scuba Discovery

TRY SCUBA DIVING

Bubble Maker

Future Buddies

Scuba Rangers

ReActivate™ – Scuba Refresher

Inactive Diver / Refresher

Scuba Skills Update

Not Applicable

Shallow Water Diver

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

Supervised Diver

Not Applicable

Scuba Diver

Not Applicable

Scuba Diver

Open Water Diver

Open Water Scuba Diver

Open Water Diver

Not Applicable

Advanced Diver

Advanced Open Water Diver

Rescue Diver

Rescue Diver

Diver Stress & Rescue

Master Diver

Master Diver

Master Diver

Not Applicable

Scubility Diver

Classified Diver

Advanced Open Water Diver

Advanced Adventure Diver

Advanced Adventurer

Peak Performance Buoyancy

Advanced Buoyancy Control

Perfect Buoyancy

Altitude Diver

Altitude Diver

Altitude Diving

Aware – Fish Identification

Marine Ecosystems Awareness Diver

Not Applicable

Aware – Coral Reef Conservation Diver

Marine Ecosystems Awareness Diver

Not Applicable

Boat Diver

Boat Diver

Boat Diving

Cavern Diver

TDI Cavern Diver

Extended Range (XR) Cavern Diving

Multilevel Diver

Computer Diver

Not Applicable

Enriched Air Diver

Computer Nitrox Diver

Enriched Air Nitrox Diver

EFR CPR & AED

CPROX 1st AED

REACT RIGHT

Deep Diver

Deep Diver

Deep Diving

Diver Propulsion Vehicle Diver

Diver Propulsion Vehicle

Not Applicable

Discover Rebreather

TDI Rebreather Discovery

Not Applicable

Drift Diver

Drift Diver

Not Applicable

Dry Suit Diver

Dry Suit Diver

Dry Suit Diving

Equipment Specialist

Equipment Specialist

Equipment Techniques

Not Applicable

Full Face Mask Diver

FFM

Ice Diver

Ice Diver

Ice Diver

Project AWARE® Specialist

Marine Ecosystems Awareness Diver

Ecology

Night Diver

Night/Limited Visibility Diver

Night & Limited Visibility

Not Applicable

Research Diver

Not Applicable

Search and Recovery Diver

Search and Recovery Diver

Search & Recovery

Not Applicable

Shore/Beach Diver

Waves, Tides, & Current

Sidemount Diver

Sidemount Diver

Recreational Sidemount Diving

Self Reliant Diver

Solo Diver

Independent Diver

Rebreather Diver

Not Applicable

Rebreather Diver

Not Applicable

UW Hunter and Collector

Not Applicable

Underwater Nagivator

UW Navigation Diver

Navigation

Digital Underwater Photography

UW Photographer

Underwater Photography

Underwater Videographer

UW Videographer

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

Visual Inspection Procedures

Not Applicable

Wreck Diver

Wreck Diver

Wreck Diver

Distinctive Specialties

Unique Specialties

Additional Specialties

Aware – Shark Conservation Diver

Shark Diver

Shark Diver

Invasive Lionfish Tracker

Lionfish Eradification Diver

Not Applicable

Sea Turtle Awareness

Turtle Awareness Diver

Not Applicable

Whale Shark Awareness

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

PADI Free Diver

Not Applicable

Basic Free Diver

Not Applicable

Goliath Grouper Awareness Diver

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

SDI Fill Station Operator

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

Heritage Awareness Diver

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

Kayak Diver

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

Manatee Awareness Diver

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

River Diver

River Diver

It is recommended to all SDI, TDI, and ERDI instructors that they verify new students can demonstrate skills required in previous courses. As a result, if you are enrolling in an SDI, TDI, or ERDI course and coming from another organization you may be required to do a check-out dive with your instructor to verify that your skills and knowledgebase line up appropriately for the course, prior to commencement of training. We also recommend divers take a refresher course after a period of not diving, this period, while not a hard and fast rule, is about a year. This simply means that even though you hold a certification it is always a good idea to go on a dive with a professional and refresh your knowledge and skills.

All information is current at the time of publication. Over time, as organizations update their standards and create new courses, the information in this table may become outdated and is subject to change without any given notice. With that said, please do not copy or take screen captures of this table, as it may not be accurate in the future.

Regardless of the dive training organization you choose, we hope you have a wonderful dive experience and continue advancing your dive education in the future.

For a list of courses offered by SDI, including their Standards, click here! Also, if you are looking for your nearest SDI Dive Center, check out the SDI Dive Center Locater.

If you do not see your dive training organization on this list and you are curious if it’s equivalent to an SDI, TDI, or ERDI rating, let us know! Simply write a message to the training department (training@tdisdi.com) and we will be happy to help.

While each agency will tout their strengths, the most important thing to consider when undertaking any type of SUBA training be it a Discover Dive or Tech training, is the individual instructor. The trust you place in that individual is nothing less than your life. I personally hold certifications with NAUI, SSI, PADI and HSA. Each one was taken with an instructor that met my individual needs (as I try to do with my students).

Thank you, Mark. You are correct, the Solo and Self-reliant may not be an exact equivalent but when the Self Reliant program was created, it was created with the Solo Diver Program in mind. You are always going to find differences in all the courses above and that is what makes them unique. Every training agency has had the opportunity to make each course their own on some way or another.